When we think of strength we tend to conjure images of Lennox Lewis or Jonny Wilkinson’s one-arm pull-ups. But what about Stephen Hawking or Albert Einstein? Is mental might as important as muscle mass?

According to the team behind the AdeZ Ultimate Strength Test it certainly is, proving once and for all that it takes more mind than muscle to be truly ‘strong’.

But are you ready to take the test to find out how strong you are?

Join our expert panel including Britain’s first ever female fighter pilot Jo Salter, leading celebrity fitness instructor, Jamie Baird; happiness expert Dr Robert Holden; and nutritionist to the London Wasps and London Irish Rugby Clubs, Jane Griffin, live online on Tuesday 22nd May at 1430 to discuss how to discover your strength.

Click here for more information

H: Hello and welcome to the Lifestyle show, brought to you by AdeZ, I’m Liz Speight. Now think of Tony Blair, Geoff Capes, Dame Ellen Macarthur and Professor Stephen Hawkin – all very different people but they have one thing in common – they’re known for their strength. Different strengths maybe, but they’re very strong people, and strength is a lot more than just lifting weights, having a fit body is a good way to start, being healthy is a good way to start, but you also have to build up emotional and mental metal if you’re going to cope with everything that life has to throw at you, and if you ask any sports star they’ll tell you that what’s up here is just as important as having a really healthy body if you’re going to be a winner. So, how do you build up that strength? Well there are 4 distinct areas of strength according to my esteemed team here; my team of experts and those strengths are emotional, physical, personal and cognitive. So how can we improve on these and what exactly do they mean? It is a bit confusing, but don’t panic, because with us here in the studio to discuss this; I’m joined by Jo Salter who is Britain’s first female fighter pilot, welcome along Jo nice to see you. Also Dr Robert Holden who is the founder of the Happiness project – that sounds lovely! And then on the other side of me I have Jane Griffin who’s a sports dietician who works with a lot of rugby players. And also not forgetting Jamie Baird who is a celebrity fitness instructor. So before we talk to these about their specialities, let’s talk a little bit more about these different strengths. Let’s start with you first Jo, tell us what cognitive strength is and how would that be useful for you as a fighter pilot?

Jo: Cognitive strength is about using your mind and about using your brain, and I’ll start really as we get older and we stop being at school, we stop learning and we stop in a structured way we sometimes can stop using our brains, and one way to keep using our brains is to do crossword puzzles, Sudoku, to start to exercise it like a brain muscle almost

H: Is it actually a muscle, it’s not really is it?

Jo: It isn’t but let’s just use that as an analogy because the more you use it, the fitter it becomes and the more the neurones work etc, so how useful was that when I was a fighter pilot? Incredibly useful, because you need to be able to make split second decisions, you need to be able to react and also process a lot of information at any one time

H: So your brain has to be sharp as well as your body?

Jo: It does

H: And those two things go hand in hand, or those four strengths go hand in hand?

Jo: Yes they do

H: So let’s move on to Robert, now you’re going to talk to us about emotional strength. The Happiness project, explain to us a little bit about that and how emotional strength works?

R: Yes I think there’s two aspects to emotional strength, I think the first aspect is knowing what makes you happy. Sounds a simple thing to say but a lot of people don’t know. They won’t, they want to be happy but they’ve never really worked it out f or themselves, what actually makes me happy? And also I think knowing what you love and what you’re passionate about are really important as well. So you’ve got happiness and love as one aspect of emotional strength, and then on the other side you’ve got all these other emotions, fear, self-doubt, guild, anxiety, anger, woundedness, a sense of disappointment from the past perhaps, and actually strength is about being able to confront those emotions in a really honest way so that you are able to let go of some of the unhelpful things in your past. You know if you can let those go then you can sort of move on with your life again

H: So if you have emotional strength it would help you deal with situations that were thrown at you?

R: Yes I think most of us know what it is to have self-doubt or to face some fear, or to have a disappointment in the past, you know –

H: But that can make you stronger if you use it to your advantage?

R: If you face it, I think that’s the key. Often it’s about being able to face fears and doubts, being able to let them go as well. I mean I think happiness starts with the decision to give up all hopes for a better past, you know you’ve got to be willing to let go of your –

H: Put it behind you

R: Past

H: Yes, can’t change it

R: Then face it what’s this fear trying to teach me, what’s this fear trying to ask me to do so that I can, maybe with my relationships or my work, or just the way I live, be stronger

H: Ok so that’s the emotional strength, now that’s two down. Moving on to number three, and we have physical strength, and Jamie Baird you’re a fitness instructor with a few celebrity people under your belt

J: I have a few people, yes

H: Explain to us, I mean it seems obvious to me, physical strength, explain to us a little bit about why that’s important

J: Well I think when anyone does mention the word strength they always think of the physical side, but as we’re here today we all know that it’s a lot more than that. I believe in the physical side, the strength side of things is the ability of the body to cope

H: Right, so if you’re fit maybe you could cope with different situations that are thrown at you?

J: Well there are so many benefits to being strong, internally but also muscular as well because it supports the joints, it gives you strong bones, so osteoarthritis, it also helps your metabolism as well because if you think that over a period of 10 years someone might lose 5 pounds of muscle if they’re not weight training, so when you lose that 5 pounds of muscle, you’re losing the body’s ability to burn calories

H: Right

J: So it’s important that people should weight train or strength train to maintain their muscle – not necessarily to put muscle on, but to maintain what they’ve got, so that’s really very important

H: Right, and do we need, does a celebrity fitness instructor like you to do that? It would be nice wouldn’t it?

J: It would help with motivation

H: Right yes

J: And also the direction as well, it’s not just going and lifting weights over your head and – it’s about structuring a program that’s going to benefit that person, because you need a balanced body as well, it’s not just all about doing bicep curls or chest press, it’s about getting balance and you need to work on specific muscles of the body to get that balance

H: Ok, so that’s physical strength, and last but not least we move onto Jane Griffin who is the sports dietician, and Jane’s going to talk to us a little bit about personal strength. Now this is a bit of an issue that effects all of us I think, but Jane if you could just sort of start the ball rolling about what that means?

Jane: I think it’s a little bit difficult in a way to say what is personal strength, I actually think it’s bringing all three that we’ve heard about already together, under the umbrella of what you eat

H: Right

Jane: Because I think what you put into your body, whether it’s the food or whether it’s the fluid is going to have an effect on all those three areas that we’ve talked about. And as you’ve said I work with top sports people, and they have to get their diet right, and most people think well it’s because of the muscles, and all this that and the other but there’s a lot more to it than that, I mean I work with young elite players and they’re learning so much and –

H: And it’s relatively new isn’t it, the link with diet and fitness –

Jane: Yes

H: We’ve seen that with the England squad haven’t we?

Jane: Absolutely, absolutely. And but also with mood. I mean we all love chocolate, and it isn’t actually anything that special in chocolate, it’s just we love eating it, and because we love eating it, it lifts our mood, so we feel better for it

H: But other foods could maybe do that and be more healthy?

Jane: What sort?

H: You hope! Just a little bit now and again. As long as you balance it

Jane: You put it in a nutshell, just a little bit. I don’t like hearing about people going out and buying huge bars of chocolate and eating them in one go, I’m not talking about that, but just now and again and enjoying it, no guilt

H: Bit of discipline. As long as you balance it with some fruit and vegetables and some other things that

Jane: 5 portions a day

H: Yes exactly. Now this is an interactive show and we’d love your questions so if you’ve got any questions for our panel here, then do send them in. All you have to do is type your name and where you’re from in the box that’s on the screen, pop your question in there and press submit and it will come through to us here in the studio and we’ll try to get through as many as we can. Now we have some in already and Johnny Thompson has sent one in and he wants to know, “who do you think is the strongest person in the world, considering it’s not all about physicality?” Jamie, what do you think?

J: That’s a tough one because the strongest person actually in the world is a guy called Mariusza Pudzianowskiego, currently the world’s strongest man, and he can lift the most amounts of weight above his head and he’s huge, I mean biceps are bigger than my leg, but when we’re talking about in the context of what we’re all talking about in the different aspects of strength, I really think the people who are the strongest people, I think, are people that look after old people

H: Right

J: And the people that look after disabled people

H: Because they’ve got a lot of inner strength, but not necessarily physical strength

J: Yes the patience, the commitment, the – it’s just a strength that’s a lot deeper than just muscles and stuff

H: And you wouldn’t necessarily think that they were a strong person, it’s just recognising your different strength I suppose

J: Definitely

H: Jane who would you say was a very strong person?

Jane: I think possibly Ranolph Fiennes actually because I think I’d go for somebody whose not got age on their side

H: Yes

Jane: And yet is still prepared to tackle things like you know the most amazing things –

H: And he’s not got health on his side necessarily either has he?

Jane: No he hasn’t and his wife died, so he’s had all sorts of things to cope with, and I think – you know it’s all very well seeing young people achieve, but when you see somebody of his age achieve the things that he’s achieved, I would definitely put him up there as one of the strong ones

H: Yes he’s amazing, and he just doesn’t stop does he, it’s incredible. Jo, what would you say?

Jo: No I have someone in mind and for the life of me unfortunately I can’t remember his name, but he’s a – I’ve met him, but he’s blind and he just flew across –

H: Oh yes I remember seeing about that on the news

Jo: Did you see that?

H: He’s incredible

Jo: Well that’s not all he’s done, he’s done the most amazing thing that most people with sight wouldn’t do, and I think the mental discipline, the physical side of it, linking it all together he is just an amazing man, and when I met him briefly he has that sort of calm persona that when he holds, touches you, you can just almost feel the strength coming from him, he’s amazing and he’s – I’m racking my brains and if I can come up with his name I’ll do my best

H: That’s a good one though isn’t it because it’s someone whose mentally very strong but physically maybe his sight letting him down but –

Jo: He’s over compensated –

H: In other areas, yes exactly. Robert who would you say, have you got anyone in mind?

R: Well someone we all know, Nelson Mandela

H: Right, yes

R: For, particularly because I’m covering the emotional area. Imagine being locked up in a cell for years and years where you have to just confront yourself in that small space for so long and to survive that is one thing but then of course to come out of that and for me, he’s an example of somebody who is strong because he has a sense of purpose

H: Yes

R: He has a sense of purpose, he also has a cause that he’s willing to serve, and I think people become strong when they have that sense of purpose

H: And that kept him going through all those dark days

R: Exactly, I mean he would have had to have faced all sorts of demons, as he’s written about, and that would have been enough to send most people –

H: We can’t even really imagine what that would be like

R: No we can’t but the other side of it was he found his purpose, he found his cause, he found something to serve, and I think ordinary people become extraordinary when they start to find a sense of purpose in their life, and actually also when their life’s not just about them any more and it’s about other people and all of a sudden I think you find another level of inspiration and grace even that allows you to be strong

H: Yes. So we all have inner strengths maybe that we maybe don’t tap into quite as much as we should. But moving on to some more questions and Francis wants to know, we touched on this a little bit earlier actually with Jo – “I find that by doing crosswords and Sudoku that that keeps my brain razor sharp. Are there any foods that I should be eating too?” Jane, any tips?

Jane: Protein-rich foods actually keep you alert, but if you’re –

H: So meat, fish –

Jane: Yes exactly so having a protein-rich breakfast first thing in the morning if you’ve got to go off –

H: Not a fry-up, surely?

Jane: No, no no, grilled, grilled. Please!

H: So like a milkshake or something like that?

Jane: Yes if you haven’t got very much time, but the interesting thing is and this is when nutrition starts to get a little bit difficult, it’s not surprising that people struggle, but actually for concentration you also need carbohydrate, particularly first thing in the morning so –

H: That’s interesting

Jane: So a breakfast that’s got some carbs, like your breakfast cereal with your milk on top is a nice combination

H: Right. Is that do with sugar for your brain or –

Jane: Yes exactly because during the night, fortunately little things go on in our bodies like we keep breathing and our heart keeps beating and everything else and that needs blood glucose and that’s what the brain uses to tell the heart to do that and the lungs and everything else

H: Right

Jane: But we can – our level, blood glucose level can be quite low first thing in the morning

H: Right

Jane: Which is why some people are incredibly crabby, and they say I’m not bad tempered, and everybody else –

H: “I’m not a morning person”

Jane: Go and have some breakfast and then you will feel much better

H: And people often go without breakfast as well don’t they

Jane:I know. They’d rather – yes my young rugby players, I keep telling them, they need their energy, they need to be alert, you know and they need to be nice people too

H: Yes. A bit of extra sleep and a good breakfast does the world of good

Jane: Go to bed a few minutes earlier

H: Yes and then get up 15 minutes earlier so you can have your breakfast

Jane: Yes

H: There we are you have been told!

Jane: Oh did I sound school ma’am?

H: No no we all need a bit of instruction don’t we? Now Elli wants to know, “how can you test how strong you are?” which is actually very topical because there’s quite a lot on the website about it which is www.adez.com and there’s a special test on there isn’t there? Who can tell us about that? Jo?

Jo: Yes it’s a test that’s been designed to give you a total strength score, so what will happen is it’s based on a diary so when you travel through your week and you put down information, it covers all of the four areas we’ve discussed and when you get your total score it will give you an overview as well, and you then have the option to sign up for some emails where we’ll share the top tips that are relevant to you

H: Oh that’s a good idea, bit more nagging from Jane then maybe

Jo: Bit more nagging from Jane, advice from Jane and tips and habits from us, and that will allow people then in their own homes to be able to build on the foundation that they’ve received from being able to –

H: And giving you motivation as well because I think motivation’s quite difficult for people isn’t it, would you say Jamie?

J: Extremely difficult. People – motivation can come from lots of different sources, it can come from friends, family, magazines, TV – but also it can come from within as well. Someone’s got to want to do something, got to want to change and sometimes nothing will get at that person except them themselves, so it’s a combination of all but yes like a lot of my clients who are finding it hard to get out of the front door, I think the hardest thing is actually getting their clothes on, their sports kit on in the first place with their mind ready to go running

H: And maybe if you do a team sport as well that might make you go, because I know I find it difficult getting down to the gym and what have you, but if you’re doing a team sport and you know you’ve got to be at a certain place, that might help –

J: Peer pressure you know if you’ve got a friend who can motivate you as well you can do something together. Most definitely, that really does help

H: Yes. If you’ve got to be somewhere you’ve got to be somewhere haven’t you, you can’t put it off?

J: Definitely

H: Now talking about this strength test, I actually did it earlier in the day, and I think we’ve got some slides to show you of just what sort of thing you have to do. Obviously first of all you have to put your name in and I put in sort of how much I weighed and that sort of thing. And I needed to answer a series of questions about myself, so as Jo was mentioning I needed to fill in a diary of my week, little bit about my life and how I was feeling and that included the amount of exercise that I did, the food that I ate and my stress levels etc. I tried not to be too untruthful with the amount of chocolate and alcohol I’d had, and here is an example of Wednesday. And after answering all the questions I was ready to read my results, and here is what I got. And I have to say I didn’t do that well I didn’t think, I only got 5/10 which is a bit middling really isn’t it? So how can I improve on that? Robert what sort of thing, where do you think I might have been going wrong?

R: Well can you tell us a bit more, I mean which of the four areas did you feel like -

H: Well I was a bit slack in it all I think really, I just need to tighten it all up a little bit

R: Well it sounds, you know following on from the last point I think you’re not meant to do this on your own, I really don’t think so. In fact I think often one of our weaknesses is we try to do all of this on our own, and the whole point of us as a team is we’re here to support you and give you some extra cheerleading and support

H: Yes. What sort of areas do people generally fall down on do you think?

R: It completely varied. I think the key is balance because you know for instance, let’s just say you’re really strong mentally and physically but you’ve got no idea how to handle you’re emotions, you’re in trouble. Really in trouble. I’ve worked with a lot of people in business for instance who are really fast at what they do for example in law, amazingly fast at what they do in law mentally, but actually when it comes to relating to people which is what emotions are about, they can’t do it. So in a sense I think you do need to work on the whole balance approach overall

H: So Jo 5/10 it’s a bit poor. What did you get, have you done it? I bet you got 10 didn’t you?

Jo: I didn’t

H: You didn’t? Hooray, there is hope for us all!

Jo: But I did get more than you got!

H: Ah

Jo: And I got more than Jamie got

H: oh well there we are

J: I had a bad week!

H: Well that’s it, I suppose Jo it does depend what sort of day you’ve had when you fill it in doesn’t it, but that’s why it stretches over the week I suppose

Jo: It does and also the reality of life interferes. I mean I used to do loads of physical exercise, but I have two young children, I run a job and sometimes trying to fit the exercise in is really difficult, and as Jamie was saying that point where you think I’ll just have a moment to sit down, it’s sometimes really difficult to stand up and do something to motivate yourself. And adding to what Jamie was saying I think if you can find a partner to do this with, somebody to – because if somebody rings you and says “I’m in my kit, let’s go” you’re much more likely to do it because you don’t want to let each other down, so there becomes a level of accountability with it all, and as Robert was saying about the balance. I see it a bit like a wheel and there are 4 quadrants of the wheel and if you’re out of balance then it’s a bit like travelling on cobble stones through life

H: Right. With a flat tyre sort of thing?

Jo: Yes and whilst if you can start to get that in balance then you have a far smoother ride because you’re firing off all your cylinders

H: That’s a good point isn’t it, so just try to improve all your strengths and the whole thing will be a little bit smoother – well that’s the plan anyway! Moving back to questions and Hilary has written in, she wants to know “does whether you are happy or depressed affect whether you’re strong or not?” Mmm – what would you say to that Jane? Or is that for Robert more?

Jane: It sounds definitely like Robert, he’s the happiness man!

R: We’ve done a lot of research on this. Mood absolutely affects physical strength. We’ve done lots of tests on this where we’ve actually been able to track mood through brain response and then the affects this has on the muscles

H: Oh really?

R: Yes, it’s all completely, Jane’s right, it’s completely related, there’s one big hole here and you have to try and balance it all up. So happiness is incredibly good for you and it definitely I think makes you – it boosts the body physically, you have something called endorphins that run through the body which is a fantastic thing, so you feel up, you feel high when you’re happy. I think it’s also great mentally as well, we’ve found that in studies over 20 years, people who are happy are consistently more successful at work

H: And healthier as well I would think

R: Completely happiness is brilliant for your health as well. Happiness is very good medicine of course. When you’re depressed of course the effect is different, and that’s why it’s incredibly important when you’re depressed to get help and a lot of people try to do it on their own when they’re depressed and they sink even further so big message -

H: It is a disease at the end of the day isn’t it, depression?

R: Well it can be, yes and you know – the big message from the whole team here is just don’t wait to get help, even when you’re well by the way. You know it’s like - I think the strong people know to go and get a good coach for instance, to go running daily I mean it’s – anyone whose successful knows that their success is built upon a team. So find your team

H: There we are. And Jamie would you say that exercise makes you happy? Sometimes

J: Afterwards. When I’m doing it, my clients – they’re not happy at all, no. They just want to hit me. I think the net affect afterwards is they’re sleeping better, they can cope better with stresses at work, and I think they feel better about themselves, their self esteem is lifted and yes the endorphin rush that some people get as well, it’s fantastic –

H: And you feel better about yourself because you’ve actually been out and done it

J: Definitely, you feel tighter and you feel like you can hold your head up and – I definitely agree

H: Ok

Jane: There’s something about the diet as well, thinking about it when I was listening to you guys – sometimes you look forward to something, I’m going to treat myself to a great big 12” pizza or fish and chips or whatever, and eat it and not long after that you actually feel really down

H: Yes

Jane: You feel guilty, you wish you hadn’t done it, and that pleasure was so short-lived. So for me it’s look at the foods that are going to make you feel good, healthier, because the rest of your life will fall into place as well because you’re eating the right sorts of foods. I mean my rugby players wouldn’t be able to do what they do. I mean WASPS wouldn’t have won the Heineken cup if they’d gone out and had fish and chips for their breakfast

H: It’s all very carefully balanced

Jane: Absolutely

H: Isn’t it, their diet

Jane: Absolutely

H: What you’re putting in is what your body feeds off and it’s the fuel that –

Jane: But you have to know what your body is needing as well

H: Yes

Jane: So it’s not just a case of, well any of the foods that are good because it is a case of, well you want so many portions of different things –

H: If that’s what your diet matches your lifestyle

Jane: If people go into the website they’ll find out that – the way I work, a lot of the time is not saying oh you have to have so many calories and so many grams and this, that and the other, it’s portions – how many numbers of certain things you have in a day

H: Right. That’s interesting. Also depending on how big you are as well and what sort of manual work you do –

Jane: Well if people learnt to listen to their own bodies they would eat the right amount, it’s just that some people have got eyes much bigger than their tummies

J: I think Jane picked up on a good point actually about how people feel about food that they’ve just had. There’s nothing you can do about stuff that’s happened in the past

Jane: No exactly

J: So you think ok I had the pizza, let’s move on and now I’ll eat better for the next –

H: And don’t feel guilty about it, beat yourself up about it

J: There’s nothing you can do about it, you can’t change what happened and people just get tied up in that I think so it’s –

H: Make a start, today or tomorrow

J: Don’t feel guilty

Jane: And the next time they feel like having the pizza, remember how they felt after the last one – why not have a 6” one instead! Might not feel quite so bad afterwards

H: Moving on! Mike wants to know “so what is the most important type of strength?” That’s a bit of a hard one isn’t it?

J: Physical, no doubt

H: They all say their own! Jo what would you say?

Jo: Well I think as we’ve just been saying there isn’t one

H: No

Jo: But there is a time when different strengths are required depending on the situation and the environment, so there are times when you do need your physical strength, there are times when you need your emotional strength, so it’s about understanding yourself, understanding the environment and reacting in a controlled manner really rather than any one being more than the other

H: And do you think that you can be good at all of those strengths or do you have to recognise the ones that maybe you’re weaker at and then compensate with the others?

Jo: I think you can be good, personally at all of them. There’s no reason not to

H: And so how do you set about that?

R: Well to the question I think personal strength is really important, because I think in a way that one is the one that joins the other ones up

H: Right

R: So personal strength is about knowing myself

H: Right

R: And it’s about knowing my strengths but actually also knowing my weaknesses and being honest about that and so when I’m clear about my weaknesses well maybe I do have some weaknesses around perhaps physical exercise or diet or emotions or mental, and then if I know what those are then I can really work with that. So in some ways I think the lynch pin really is the personal strength

H: Right

R: The better you know yourself the easier life is going to be. If you don’t really know yourself I think you know it’s just so difficult

H: Yes

R: so get that one straight, be honest with yourself about how you are and then I think all of the other strengths, you know you can work on, definitely

H: Maybe ask other people what they –

R: Completely, actually you know it’s a brave thing to do but it’s worth it, it’s absolutely worth it, get some feedback

H: You know who your friends are then don’t you?

R: Yes. The easiest way to find out is doing the test online

H: Yes that’s true

R: You’re going to get the answers, hopefully

H: That’s true. We’ve got another question for Jamie actually, Jordan’s written in, and he or she wants to know “I haven’t done much exercise before, what is the best way to build up my physical strength?” Where do you start?

J: Good question, where do you start. That’s –

H: Little by little I suppose

J: Yes I mean employing a personal trainer is a very quick way to start because a trainer will show you what to do –

H: So you don’t hurt yourself

J: Exercise, technique – reading the magazines that are out there and the books that are out there that will give you exercise programs, but it’s quite a difficult question to ask because I don’t know the situation the person’s in, but go to the gym, get in some good instruction, learning how to use the machines properly in a safe and effective way, and more so doing it regularly and consistently. You don’t get results from doing it once or twice, then missing a month and doing it again

H: No

J: It needs to be consistent and Jordan’s going to get a lot stronger by doing something consistently

Jane: Yes. Wouldn’t you also say that somebody – I mean this may be somebody whose never done anything very much at all, just to actually get out and start walking

H: Yes

Jane: Because I’m amazed at how many people just don’t walk anywhere, and they park their car as close to the supermarket as possible, the same in the car park when they go to work

H: Just little changes could make quite a big difference I suppose. Taking the stairs – getting off the bus a stop –

Jane: Exactly. Some of the escalators in London on the tube are enormous, but walk some of it and then just pull in and let the fit ones run by

H: And when you start feeling better you move onto the next stage

Jane: I mean all the areas that we’re talking about it’s taking it little by little and seeing the improvements. Some may be daily, some weekly, some monthly –

H: And of course the online test helps because you get that email which will keep you going

Jane: Absolutely

H: Give you a bit of enthusiasm and encouragement

R: Also if Jordan just set a target, you know and also was aware of what the benefits would be of reaching that target, that’s a great thing because I think once you, getting into Jane’s point, once you have the motivation I think on the whole you tend to do it, but maybe just a bit of direction as well, so if you want to build up your physical strength set a target for yourself, think of what the benefits would be of achieving that target and then hopefully that will also help you get out as well. And one of the things that I think is so great about – again - having a team is that a lot of times I think we make a mistake that I think all of these things require ridiculous amounts of effort

H: Yes

R: And often one of the blocks is that we’re trying too hard with a lot of this stuff, and actually it’s about being smarter rather than trying harder, so hopefully again if we’re working well for you as a team, we’re trying to give you tips that will make it easier for you once you begin

H: We all like it a little bit easier don’t we?

R: Yes

Jo: Can I just add finally to Robert’s point which is rewards on the way because lots of little rewards makes you feel good

H: So maybe if you’ve been down to the gym, you have a tiny square of chocolate when you come back?

Jo: Absolutely. Or book yourself in for a massage after –

H: Yes exactly

Jo: Or something like that

H: Exactly. Now we have another question in from Ruth Smythe and she wants to know “my daughter plays football but still gets comments from people at her school about it being a boy’s game. Do you have any advice to encourage her to keep going and ignore the comments?” Jo that’s got to be one for you, you were in such a boy’s world weren’t you?

Jo: Completely

H: How did you cope with it?

Jo: Well I think having a good sense of humour and being determined to do what you want to do. There’s no such thing really about boy’s and girl’s things apart from what society has done in the past and we’ve just said about how we should dump the past and look forward to the future and there are lots and lots of girls playing football, I see them all the time at schools and in the parks now and good luck to her –

H: These days

Jo: These days it’s –

H: Different world isn’t it?

Jo: It is different and in 10 years time when girls are playing football, nobody will even be mentioning it

H: No

Jo: And I look forward to when we’re watching the FA Cup full of girls rather than boys

H: Well there – we never know do we, could happen! Well that’s about all we’ve got time for today, thanks to all of you who’ve written in with your questions, we’ve got loads more. I’m sorry we haven’t managed to get through all of them. And thanks also to all of our guests, to Jo and to Robert

R: Pleasure

H: And to Jamie and to Jane, and if you want to take the ultimate strength test to find out how you’re getting on – you might get more than 5 out of 10 hopefully than I did, I’ve got to try a little bit harder I think, then all you have to do is to go to the website which is www.adez.com and fill in all your details there and it’s actually quite good fun to do and then you get your emails through as well, so you know get started, make yourself stronger and you know life will be better we hope! Well that’s all we’ve got time for on the Lifestyle show today, we’ll see you next time – bye bye

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